It's a difficult situation for many Mailchimp users, because the email platform does not comply with European GDPR regulations. The regulation states that personal data may only be stored on servers that are physically located in Europe. And that is not the case for Mailchimp. This means that if you use Mailchimp ,you may be in violation. Fortunately, there is a solution!
You may have been working with Mailchimp for a long time and therefore are familiar with the program. In addition, you can be using a free version of Mailchimp. This may make switching to another platform difficult. Fortunately, there are solutions that enable a smooth transfer to a GDPR-proof platform.
Switching from Mailchimp to MailerLite
One of the GDPR-proof email marketing tools is MailerLite. Their servers are located in Europe. Using it is slightly simpler and more flexible than Mailchimp. In addition, all of the features you find in Mailchimp are also available in MailerLite. Cost is also an important factor, but MailerLite scores a lot better than Mailchimp in that area too. I myself made the switch from Mailchimp to MailerLite for several accounts quite some time ago, and with success. In addition to the advantages described above, it also appears that the deliverability of MailerLite is higher, so that fewer e-mails end up in the spam filter. With more opens and more clicks as a result. So there is little to no reason to delay the switch.
Switching to another email platform
1. Create an account on MailerLite
This is a very simple step. You can create a new account at www.mailerlite.app and it is free. You go through a few steps where you can provide the necessary information. However, if you want to use the paid functions - the free version is already very extensive - or if you have more than 1,000 active subscribers, you should switch to a paid subscription. You can cancel this at any time, even if you have more than 1,000 addresses in your database.
2. Export and import your subscribers
The core of your email marketing is your subscribers. You can export these from Mailchimp and then import them into MailerLite. This can be done manually, but you can also create a direct link between the two programs to transfer all addresses 1-to-1. After the export is successful, you can delete the database in Mailchimp. This is a requirement to comply with the GDPR. You can then also cancel your subscription. After that you can still keep the Mailchimp account, this can be useful to be able to consult older mailings for a while.
Tip: This could be an ideal time to take a closer look at the grouping and segmentation of your contacts. Especially when your address file has grown considerably over the years, it can be useful to make a different layout.
3. Verify your email address and your domain
In order to send an e-mail, your e-mail address must be added to the MailerLite system. After all, you can only send mailings from an existing address. In addition, it is interesting to perform a verification via the DNS settings of your own domain name. That way your e-mail is less likely to be seen as spam and it will be delivered to more mailboxes.
4. Create your first email
After completing the previous steps, you are ready to compose and send out your first email. You will notice that MailerLite is built very intuitively and that putting together a campaign is a piece of cake!
Could you use some advice or help with professionally setting up an account on MailerLite? Then our experts will be happy to help you! Contact us via info [at] ziedalmorris.com!
